Stockholm Syndrome
by CreativeReading
Summary: Please read "Lima Syndrome" first for back story. - It would be nice to think that a few hours with Darcy could transform Loki from an insecure megalomaniac to a well-adjusted individual. But old habits are hard to break. Can Darcy save Loki without losing herself in the process? Rated T for mild innuendo and mild language
1. Chapter 1

Author's Note- I own nothing from Marvel.

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Ch. 1

**"There is an Iago and a Romeo within all of us; there is that lover and that sociopath."**

Tom Hiddleston on why he can have compassion for all of the characters he portrays.*

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The first time that Loki ever saw Darcy Lewis was through the eyes of the Destroyer. She was terrified and trembling and, for a moment, he faltered in his control of the machine. When he saw the other woman run to Thor after he had been felled by the Destroyer, Loki was surprised. Why Thor would prefer that one over Darcy seemed beyond all understanding.

The first time Loki found out her name was while controlling Dr. Erik Selvig in his attempt to utilize the Tersseract. Loki had pumped Selvig for information about Thor's woman, Jane Foster, but he also asked more than a few questions about her lovely assistant. He was surprised by Selvig's paternalistic and slightly dismissive attitude towards her, for anyone who dared attack the God of Thunder with a weapon known as a taser seemed audacious and daring to Loki.

The first time Loki realized that Darcy was actually within reach was when he heard his guards at the Avengers Tower gossiping about Dr. Foster's assistant. At first, Loki was unsure whether they were referring to the same girl. Then, one of the guards asked the other, "Have you seen her? Hell, that girl has curves that could kill man."

"But, what a way to die," replied the second one with a lecherous laugh, and Loki knew that they were talking about the same girl. He might have made the sleeping spell he used on them a little more potent and hangover-inducing than strictly necessary during his escape, but he felt they really should have kept their opinions to themselves.

Upon his escape from the Tower, he was surprised to find her with Hawkeye. Clint hadn't mentioned the girl at all while under Loki's command, which meant that this was a new attachment. When Clint got called away, Loki gave in to impulse and decided to confront her.

And yet, somehow, Darcy was able to convince him that taking her as a hostage didn't make sense. Loki walked away, ready to regroup and plan out his next move to regain the scepter in order to control mankind. Then, he shook his head. He was several centuries old and he couldn't believe that he just got talked out of his plan by a relative child.

So, he followed her back to her apartment. He thought for a few moments outside of her door. Then, he used a bit of his last meager magical reserves to transform himself into her date in an effort to coax her easily from her home and use her to bargain for the scepter.

He was shocked, after opening the door, when she ran up and hugged him tightly, her body shaking in shock and fear. The embrace was too much for him to take and he gave into impulse once again and gently kissed her. But almost immediately, a voice in his head told him he was giving into sentiment, that all of his plans were going to crumble if he let his emotions rule him. So, he twisted the tenderness into terror, punishing her for his lack of discipline, relishing in her fear of him before knocking her out with a sleeping spell.

Back at the bunker, he assumed she would be a sufficiently cowed prisoner, but instead she just talked and talked. She was brash; she was impulsive; she was relentless. There was nowhere to hide from her inquisition. Her words began to tear down his reserves.

So, his little crush, his fascination, gave way to reality. She wasn't a sultry seductress or a meek, compliant captive. She was maddening, infuriating and, ultimately, intriguing. In the few hours they had been together, she had made him realize things about himself and his relationship with his family that he hadn't confronted in years. Not that a thousand years of imagined and real slights, put-downs and betrayals could be overcome in a night. The wounds that Loki had ran deep. But, friendship was a start.

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**Author's Note** - *Quote taken from the clip -"Adventures in Compassion" Uploaded to Youtube on April 13, 2009

Hope you liked the first chapter. If you haven't already, please read "Lima Syndrome" first, it gives the background for this story.

Happy Halloween! Reviews are better than candy!


	2. Chapter 2

Ch. 2

**"He's off the map mentally . . . .It's fun to be a box of cats"**-

Tom Hiddleston on playing Loki in Avengers (yes, we all know it's a bag of cats, but give the poor guy a break, he probably had to do 100 interviews that day)

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It had been two months since Loki kidnapped Darcy and it seemed as though they had actually become real friends.

Not that it wasn't hard. And not that Loki didn't shoot himself in the foot more often than not. But his walls began to crumble ever so slightly.

The first challenge their newly formed friendship faced was getting Loki back to the Avengers Tower without him getting pounced on by the Avengers on the way there. However, anyone known as "The Trickster" can tell you that getting into a prison is a lot easier than getting out of one. And, before the Avengers could even officially assemble (because, let's face it, that always seems to take forever), Loki was tucked safely back into his cell with Darcy waiting patiently on the outside.

He also earned his title to the "God of Lies" since Loki was somehow able to convince the Avengers and S.H.I.E.L.D. that he had received a mental projection straight from Thanos himself and had escaped custody in order to protect the Avengers and draw Thanos away. His abduction of Darcy was explained away of having a chance meeting with her and wanting to save her from Thanos' henchmen that were on his tail. The photo Darcy took and posted on Facebook at the end of her abduction seemed to corroborate his story, as they seemed smiling and friendly. Darcy's frantic message to Clint that Loki had attempted to kidnap her was explained away as her overreaction to seeing Loki out of his cell.

That wasn't to say that the Avengers didn't have huge lingering doubts about Loki and his story. However, the fact that he came back to the Tower with Darcy of his own free will did seem to back up what he was saying.

Since his mind was, as Bruce Banner had put it, "a bag of cats", and his ranting about a mental projection from Thanos seemed a bit over the top, S.H.I.E.L.D. tried sending a psychologist in to talk to him. However, Loki just growled at him until the counselor made the mistake of asking Loki about his father, after which the poor man barely made it out of the cell alive, vowing never to return. So, Darcy, a woman with only one psych class, and only that one because she had to fill a general ed requirement, became the madman's only confidant. Their friendship was shaky at best. She was only certain that he liked her at the beginning since he insulted her only half as much as he did everyone else. But, she had made a promise to him that he wouldn't be alone again and she kept it.

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Since Loki had knocked out his two previous guards during his escape attempt and they refused to guard him again, he was assigned two new day guards, nicknamed Agents Smith and Jones, for anonymity's sake. Loki shuddered when he first met them, for they both looked an awful lot like Thor in a crew cut. They wore the same black uniforms, helmets and boots as Loki's guards on the hellcarrier. The only change was that they were issued brand new guns based on retro-engineered Destroyer technology, the same type that Agent Coulson had fired upon him. This made Loki more than a little wary of them.

Darcy, on the other hand, was intent on winning the guards over. She found out that Agent Jones had a weakness for mochas, so she never visited Loki's cell without one for him. Agent Smith just had a new baby with his wife, so Darcy provided the odd night of babysitting to his eternal gratitude. Since Darcy visited Loki almost daily, getting along with the guards made good sense. And, it was no secret that they liked her infinitely more than they liked him.

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**Author's Note**- Quote taken from a Pop Sugar interview posted on Youtube on April 25, 2012


	3. Chapter 3

Ch. 3

**"Compassion is kindness, forgiveness and empathy; lack of judgment, care, concern. . . weirdly, I have this picture of a woman smiling, I don't know, it's the first thing that comes into my head. Compassion is about understanding."**

Tom Hiddleston on compassion

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"You think I can't see what you're doing?" Darcy asked.

It had been a particularly frustrating afternoon for Darcy. After spending her days helping out Jane and doing general administrative tasks that S.H.I.E.L.D. dreamed up to justify her pay, she always visited Loki in his cell after work. Loki would usually pace around, ranting about the imbecilic humans he was supposed to work with, and Darcy would try to calm him down and cheer him up. Unfortunately, this day Loki poured all his wrath directly at her, insulting her in every way imaginable.

Loki hated the feeling of being caged and powerless, and since the last reserves of his magic had been used up in his escape attempt, he was irritable and lashing out.* It was one of those days that he was bitterly regretting the fact that he listened to Darcy and returned to custody after trying to escape.

"Whatever do you mean?" he snarled back at her.

"The way you're acting today. You're embarrassed that you've opened up to me and now you're trying to push me away. But it won't work." Darcy looked him straight in the eyes, not giving an inch.

"And why not?"

"I'm pretty resilient. I've spent years completely out of my depth, floundering in the world of astrophysics. Do you have any idea how many times I've been called useless or worse? I've developed a pretty thick skin. So, do your best, Prince Charming."

"You're not, you know, " Loki said softly, turning away.

"I'm not, what?"

"Useless," he said. Darcy smiled. She knew it cost him a lot to say that.

"I know that, silly. You know, once, when I was having a particularly crappy day, Jane told me something to cheer me up."

"Really? And what was it?" Loki asked drolly, knowing that she was going to tell him anyway.

"It was a quote by Einstein, 'Everybody is a genius. But if you judge a fish by its ability to climb a tree, it will live its whole life believing that it is stupid.' Now, I know he probably didn't really say it; it's a bit trite, and doesn't actually sound like him, but still, it made me feel better. I may not have a background in the 'hard' sciences, but I aced my way through all of my Poly Sci classes. Heck, I even inspired you in your attempt to take over the world."

"That you did," Loki responded, trying to hide a chuckle.

"Another way to look at it is your situation."

"What do you mean?" Loki asked uncomfortably.

"Well, on Asgard, it was all about brash over the top heroics, right? Charging into the fray, showing no fear and brute strength, right? By that standard, you were, let's say, not up to snuff. But, you showed intelligence, forethought and cunning. And, in my opinion, it shows you to be the better strategian and the better warrior."

Loki knew that this was going to come back on him. Even their most innocuous conversations seemed to end in a therapy session.

"While I appreciate the sentiment, I fear you are the only one in the entire universe that actually holds it. But I thank you for it, nonetheless. But, why are you still here? I thought you were meeting Agent Barton?" Loki tried to keep the question light, masking his desire to fish for information.

"Oh, no, we are so over. I made a fatal mistake."

"And what was that?"

"I finally got around to looking at his file."

"And all the assassinations were too much for you to take?" Loki asked, trying not to smile.

"No, I could totally deal with that. I mean, I knew he was a spy and all. It wasn't that. I saw how old he was."

"And?"

"He's like 15 years older than me**. He totally could be my dad. It was just too creepy. I had to bail."

"Fifteen years? How ancient," Loki remarked dryly.

Darcy reddened, realizing her mistake. "I didn't mean . . . . , Loki, you're different."

"Oh, my dear, you have no idea," he paused. "However, once again, you have strayed from your purpose for our visits."

"Okay," Darcy capitulated, knowing when not to push him, "let's start on the next phase of getting to know Earth."

In order to spend time with Loki, Darcy justified their time together as "Earth lessons". Since he had admitted to her that his lack of practical knowledge about Earth was one of the factors that led to his stunning defeat, Loki could rationalize that learning more about Earth from Darcy was a useful exercise and not just a self-indulgent attempt to spend more time with a beautiful woman. S.H.I.E.L.D. allowed Darcy to visit Loki so often since it seemed to calm him down and make him easier to work with. However, if Darcy were honest with herself, teaching Loki about the Earth was a two-edged sword. On the one hand, she hoped that he would grow to appreciate the planet, on the other, she was afraid that he would use any information she gave him to try to rule it.

And, the truth be told, hanging out with an alien was a lot harder than Darcy had anticipated. For one, all of her pop culture references completely flew over his head. She also found that when she tried to explain them, they did sound incredibly stupid to her own ears. For example, she loved watching Scooby Doo as a kid, but when she took the time to actually try to describe the animated series to Loki, he looked as if she were the one with a weak grasp on reality.

It wasn't as though Loki had never visited the Earth before. His past visits, however, were centuries ago. Although as a royal prince, Loki was required to study about all of the realms and visited most of them, Midgard was considered rather backward and uninteresting by the rest of the realms. Given that Midgardians lacked the means to travel to the other realms, it was generally overlooked. Therefore, the majority of Loki's ideas of Midgard were rooted in the past and chiefly centered around Scandinavia.

Darcy, on the other hand, was very much rooted in the here and now.

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Dr. Jane Foster flat out refused to work with Loki, even though they were working on the same problem, how to create a stable bridge from Earth to Asgard. Odin was rather vague on what Loki was actually supposed to work on while on Earth as his punishment, so S.H.I.E.L.D. unilaterally decided to have him work on their top priority project. Loki's task was to try to supply information about how the Bifrost worked. This task was greatly impeded by Jane's complete avoidance of Loki. She viewed Loki as the source of nearly all of her problems and the last thing she wanted was to be anywhere near him. The guards were instructed to never allow him into her lab.

So, Loki spent the majority of his days, dealing with lower level scientists who did their best to interpret what he was saying in magical terms into mathematical vocabulary. And, truth be told, it was a colossal failure. The data and equations that they sent to Jane made absolutely no sense to her and she had a sinking suspicion that one of two things was happening. Either the scientists tasked to work with Loki were complete idiots or, the more likely scenario, Loki was just stringing them along with false information.

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"Why are you here?" Loki asked Darcy as she entered his cell in a huff, arms crossed. "To debate the differences between communism and socialism again? Or perhaps to discuss the merits of that show, Buffy the Vampire Slayer?" Loki loved the fact that Darcy vacillated between high intellectual arguments over various political systems and slavish devotion to pop culture idols. Having only ever lived under a monarchy, Loki found Darcy's grasp of the variety of political ideologies on Midgard to be fascinating.

"One, we are not debating communism and socialism again in my lifetime. I still have a headache from the last time. Two, on pain of death, never, ever mock Buffy. She's saved the Earth, like, at least seven times. It was the Best. Show. Ever. And three, stop being a dick to Jane."

"Excuse me?" Loki was a bit taken aback. No one had ever addressed him like that.

"You heard me. I found out you've been messing with her, giving her fake info. How could you?"

"Have you met me?" he asked sarcastically. "I'm the Trickster, God of Deceit. As much as I enjoy our little talks, did you really think that I'd change my basic nature so quickly?" Loki looked at her as though she were a small child.

"Why would you do that to Jane, of all people?"

"Let me see, what reason would I have of thwarting the plans of Thor's woman to reunite with him?" Loki sneered at her.

"Jane is not Thor's 'woman'. They were together for all of three days. Hell, we've hung out together for months and I'm not your 'woman'."

"Are you so very sure of that?" Loki asked with a knowing smile and stalked towards Darcy.

"What do you mean?" Darcy asked nervously as Loki began to circle her like a predator.

"Don't play simple with me, Darcy. I know you. Why do you come here every single day? What could you possibly be getting out of it?" His gaze pierced her and she shifted uncomfortably.

"I'm just trying to help you."

"But why? For simple friendship? And how many of your other friends do you spend this much time with? What you've done for me, your devotion and faithfulness cannot be explained away as mere pity." He advanced on her, fingertips brushing hers.

"You feel something for me beyond the guise of mere compassion. I am the God of Lies and I know better than anyone that the biggest are the ones we tell ourselves," Loki whispered and with that, he leaned in and tried to kiss her. He would have been successful if not for the two guards rushing into the cell to split them apart.

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**Author's Note** - Quote at the beginning of the chapter taken from the clip -"Adventures in Compassion" Uploaded to Youtube on April 13, 2009

* **A/N** - If you've read the previous fic, "Lima Syndrome", Loki told Darcy that he could still do magic since Odin didn't consider sleeping spells and illusions true magic (i.e. lightening bolts, etc.). The truth was Loki only had a few tiny drops of magic left and he used them all up in his escape attempt. Why did Loki lie to Darcy? Because he's Loki. Loki lies. A lot.

****A/N**- As much as I like Clint and Darcy together, Jeremy Renner really is 15 years older than Kat Dennings.


	4. Chapter 4

Ch. 4

**"God bless him, he's a complicated cat. On one level, he's this off the rails psychopathic agent of chaos . . . but on a human level, his psychology and his emotional landscape is very, very interesting because he is so intelligent, and yet so broken."**

Tom Hiddleston on Loki

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Well, what the hell happened there? Darcy's mind was racing and she was shaking slightly while sitting on the couch back at her apartment. She remembered entering the cell, fully intending to chew Loki out and ended up almost kissing him. If the guards hadn't intervened, who knows what could have happened?

Darcy jumped up from the couch and began to pace. It was as if Loki had just read her mind, glimpsed the inner turmoil that she was in for the past few months. She kept telling herself that she was visiting him every day because she felt bad for him, out of a sense of compassion, because she was lonely herself in a big, new city. But he was right, she had been lying to herself.

Because, if she told the truth, the best part of her day, the part she looked forward to the most was after work with Loki. Since she lived nearby, she even managed to show up a couple of hours every weekend. She had justified it as a sense of obligation; if she didn't visit him, he had no one to talk to other than his guards for 48 hours straight.

And yet, the more she turned it over in her mind, the more hopeless it seemed. While he did try to kiss her, she rationalized it as the action of a man who hadn't been with a woman for at least two years. Of course, she told herself. That was it. She was Loki's only female interaction, the only woman he ever saw.

But, that didn't justify her own obsession with him. It wasn't just that he was ridiculously good-looking and exciting, because, to be honest, she did work around superheros every day, all of whom were attractive in their own ways. No, there was something about Loki himself, drawing her in, even if it was to her own destruction.

Darcy could see no good ending to this infatuation, no happily ever after at the end of the road. She couldn't see a way out. She loved bad boys, but even she could admit Loki went far beyond the standard tattoos and motorcycle stereotype. Not to mention he was an alien who would live for a few more thousand years at least. Jane had mentioned a way around that part, some magical golden apples on Asgard which could extend a mortal's life, but that seemed more like something a guy would do for his wife, not a girlfriend.

In the end, only two options seemed possible. Either Loki was after her for a brief fling or eternity; Darcy really couldn't see much of a middle ground. And, in her heart of hearts, she knew that a fling with Loki would break her in more ways than one.

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"We need to talk," Darcy said as she entered his cell the next day.

"Those four words never lead to happiness," Loki sighed. "About what, Darcy?"

"The last time I was here. You can't do that again or I'm out of here. I won't come back." Darcy looked determined.

"As you wish."

Darcy winced at the reference to the movie they had watched together last weekend.

"And no more screwing around with Jane. She is the closest thing I have to family here. She's like a big sister to me. I can't tell you how much she means to me and to know that you've been messing with her this whole time . . . ." Darcy trailed off, not able to put into words how upset she was.

It was Loki's turn to wince. He had always thought of Jane in relation to Thor and took delight in tormenting her with false information about the Bifrost and how it worked. He had never once considered that she was Darcy's closest friend. The revelation shocked him and made him feel more than a little ashamed.

Darcy took a deep breath. "I thought your release by Odin was conditional on you helping us. Stringing Jane along is not helpful, " she said dryly.

Darcy pressed on. "Why do this? What's the purpose? What do you want, Loki?"

She had asked him the same questions, before, when he had kidnapped her and held her in the bunker, but now, he had no answer for them. He wasn't even sure that he wanted redemption, being accepted back into his family on Asgard. All he knew for sure was that he didn't want her to stop visiting him. But, he didn't know how to say it. The Slivertongue was out of words. So, he decided to try something radical. The truth.

"After falling from the Bifrost, the Chitauri and Thanos' underling, the Other, found me. I was adrift, in more ways than one. Finding out that my whole life had been a lie; it broke something in me. And when the Other began whispering lies into my ear, lies of ruling the Earth, of being king, I listened. I had a new purpose in life, a new goal, even if it wasn't my own. And so I followed it, to the very bitter end."

"Didn't you ever stop to consider what you were doing? All the people that would die in your attempt at a throne?"

"I would like to say that I did. Even as prone as I am to causing mayhem, normally, I still consider all my options, weigh everything carefully. But during my time on Midgard, I just followed Thanos' orders and then . . ."

"What?" Darcy prompted.

"There came a time when there was no turning back, even when I wanted to. The price for rebellion or failure was too high."

"But you did fail."

"Yes, I did, in every way possible, and, someday, Thanos or one of his men might find me and make me pay for it."

"What about afterwards?"

"Well, my chief concern on Asgard was avoiding execution and then, once I was here, trying to escape."

"And now?"

"If I am honest with myself, I really do not know. I'd like to say that my highest goal is to be reunited with my family in Asgard, to be reinstated as a prince. But then what? Spend the next two thousand years working as Thor's advisor as he rules Asgard? Once again live in his shadow? At one time, it seemed the natural order of things, but now, I'm not so sure."

"Are you. . . ," Darcy sighed; this was the question that she'd been wanting to ask for months. "Are you sorry for what you did? I mean, here on Earth, the Destroyer, the invasion, all of it?"

"Of course I am, Darcy," Loki said, his voice thick with emotion. "I'd like to point to circumstances to justify what I did, but that would be only an excuse. I committed one horrible act after another, dug myself deeper and deeper, letting rage and grief fuel me. I truly regret it all, but that is hardly sufficient. Saying I'm sorry will not bring back the dead."

"It's a start."

"A poor one."

"Better than none."

"I suppose," Loki admitted with a sigh.

Darcy decided to change the subject. "Now, back to Jane. You've been driving her crazy these past few months. She doesn't eat; she doesn't sleep. You've got to start giving her real information about the Bifrost."

Loki contemplated Darcy's words for a moment. Ever the strategic thinker, he came upon a plan.

"Alright," Loki said with a broad grin, "I will provide accurate information about the Bifrost to Dr. Foster on one condition."

"And that is?" Darcy wasn't sure she was going to like where this was going.

"Instead of working four hours a day with Dr. Foster and then four hours on tasks for S.H.I.E.L.D., you will work with me in the afternoons."

"Why would you want me as an assistant?" Darcy asked warily. "Jane barely wants to work with me and I'm her best friend."

"Have you not figured it out yet? You are the only mortal's company I can stand."

Darcy rolled her eyes. "Fine, I'll need to clear the transfer with Agent Hill."

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At 1 p.m. the next day, Darcy walked into Loki's lab. The two scientists he was working with visibly tensed. They were hardly happy about being saddled with a Poly Sci major as a new assistant. Loki had been a nightmare to work with and it looked as though things had just gone from bad to worse.

Loki smiled when he saw her. Maneuvering Darcy into working with him meant that he would be spending the majority of his day in her delightful company. Given her lack of background in the area, he hardly expected her to add to the project.

Both Loki and the scientists were pleasantly surprised. For one, Darcy was unusually quiet and attentive, spending the majority of her four hour shift with them absorbed with the work. Then, about every fifteen to twenty minutes, she would make a pointed comment or ask an insightful question which would help immensely in the scientists' efforts to understand Loki's magic-based descriptions of the Bifrost. It was the first day that any real progress was made on the problem.

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On their way back to his cell, Loki was perplexed. "I thought you had no appreciation for this kind of science, yet you were far more helpful than the dullards I am made to work with. Have you been lying to me, my dear?"

Darcy blushed. "No, it's just I've been working with Jane constantly for almost 2 years. I've picked up a lot and googled the rest. It's not like I could come up with anything original, but I've come a long way in understanding it."

"You do not give yourself enough credit, Darcy. But enough about work, what shall we dine on tonight?"

Darcy and Loki had begun having dinner together every night. It was Darcy's idea to expose Loki to all the different cuisines of Earth, since New York had such a diverse offering. All the take-out was delivered to the Tower, carried to the cell by one of the guards and, best of all, charged to one of S.H.I.E.L.D.'s many expense accounts.

Darcy had started Loki on meals similar to Asgard's hearty fare, with take-out from German, Swedish and Russian restaurants. Lately, though, they had been branching out, and the results had been hit and miss at best.

"Let's be adventurous tonight. Let's get Thai food," Darcy said with a teasing smile.

"Will I like it?" Loki asked skeptically.

"Maybe not, but I've been craving it for weeks, and since S.H.I.E.L.D. is paying, I say let's go for it."

"I will leave the decision in your capable hands," Loki said with an indulgent smile.

Despite finding the Pad Thai a bit too spicy for his taste, all in all, it had been one of the best days Loki had spent since being sent to Midgard. He hardly thought Odin envisioned Loki working and dining with a gorgeous woman when he crafted his punishment, but Loki decided to revel in his father's oversight.

In fact, if Loki were honest with himself, the only unpleasant aspects of his captivity were his nightly confinement to his cell and the ever present supervision of his guards. Now that he began cooperating with the scientists in providing real data, their attitudes had noticeably improved and the addition of Darcy to his team was an added bonus. Curiously, he found the intellectual stimulation of converting his understanding of the Bifrost to Midgardian scientific explanations to be even more rewarding than the idea of tricking everyone with false information.

"So, what are you in the mood to watch tonight?" Darcy asked Loki, breaking his train of thought.

Showing Loki different movies and T.V. shows was another way that Darcy hoped to expose Loki to Earth culture. One day, he shared what happened in Stuttgart and asked her why she thought the elderly man had resisted him. That night, by way of explanation, she had them watch Schindler's List together. Loki began silently weeping halfway through it, although he did his best to hide it from Darcy. After the movie, they had a long discussion of the various wars and genocides that plagued Earth history.

Not all films, though, were on such a serious topic. She had him watch both Ace Ventura* movies, Dumb and Dumber as well as everything by Judd Apatow (40-Year-Old Virgin being her favorite). Not that he got off too easy, as she snuck in more than one of her favorite romantic comedies.

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Darcy's life settled into a pleasant routine. She'd work with Jane in the morning, have lunch with her, work with Loki in the afternoons and then have a dinner and movie together. This routine was interrupted one day when Darcy received a text from her sister. "Having a big surprise party for Dad for his 60th. We're all staying the week. It's on the 30th. Sorry for the short notice. Can you make it?"

Darcy sighed. She hadn't seen her family since Christmas. The weekly Skype chats were great, however, there was something about being there face to face.

But the 30th was only two weeks away. Airfares from New York to California would be astronomical on such short notice, although Darcy supposed she could just put it on her credit card and hope for the best.

Then, Darcy stopped. What was she going to do about Loki? Once, she'd stayed home a day with a bad cold and he bitched and moaned like she had abandoned him for a year. If she took off a week, he'd really lose it.

Then, a stray thought entered her brain. Maybe she could take him with her. The more she thought about it, the better it sounded. The poor guy had been shut up in a cell for months on end, and the only time he got outside was when the guards took him to the roof for some daily fresh air. Didn't he deserve a break?

It was with this in mind that she made her case to Agent Hill. At first, Hill had refused to even entertain the request, stating all sorts of potential problems. However, Darcy was used to thinking on her feet and, one by one, she countered them.

Finally, they reached an agreement. Given Loki's lack of government issued identification and the desire for him to keep a low profile, they would take one of Stark's private jets from New York to Malibu and then rent a car to drive to Darcy's hometown. The one stipulation that Hill had insisted upon was the inclusion of Loki's guards on the trip. Darcy could not win that battle.

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After talking to Agent Hill and getting all of the details for the trip ironed out, Darcy went to Loki's cell to talk to him.

"Hi," Darcy said as she entered, feeling a bit nervous. Maybe Loki would think it was silly to go with her to see her family.

"Hello, my dear. This is an unexpected pleasure."

"Yeah, well," she cleared her throat. "I wanted to ask you something."

"Ask away."

"My dad is having his 60th birthday party. My family is all going out there to spend the week with him. I'm planning on leaving next week."

"I see," Loki said coldly. A week, left alone. He could feel himself getting angry in spite of himself over the abandonment. He knew that it was an irrational reaction, that he was letting his obsession with Darcy get out of hand.

"I was thinking. Would you like to come with me? I cleared it with Agent Hill and we'd be taking Tony's jet and we'd have to take the guards, what do you think?" The words all came out in a rush, tumbling over each other.

A genuine smile split Loki's face. This had worked out much better than he could possibly imagine. A week away from this place and with Darcy? It sounded like paradise.

"That would be lovely. Thank you for the invitation," then Loki paused. "Is there not a danger that your family will recognize me if we visit them?"

"Uh, Loki, I think you better sit down."

Loki gave Darcy a strange look, but sat down anyway. Darcy cleared her throat, "Ummm, so the truth is, other than S.H.I.E.L.D. and the Avengers, no one on Earth really knows who you are."

"But, but," sputtered Loki, "what of Stuttgart or the invasion of New York?"

"Well, people were really scared during that Stuttgart stunt, but since everyone was so terrified about being zapped, there were only a few shaky cell phone recordings. Then, S.H.I.E.L.D. scrubbed even those images of you that found its way on the internet."

"But, surely, the invasion. . . ," Loki trailed off.

"Well, you were on the roof of the Tower for the majority of it. There's lots of footage of the Chitauri and that scary space whale, but of you, not so much."

"Oh," said Loki, feeling slightly defeated.

"Also, since then, we've had like two or three really high-profile terrorists and supervillains pop up."

"Darcy, are you telling me that no one on Earth knows who I am?"

"I know who you are. Look, is that really what you want to be remembered for anyway?"

"I suppose not," Loki said dejectedly.

"Cheer up; focus on getting out of here for a week. You'll have a great time. My mom is a wonderful cook and my brother and sister will load you up with lots of embarrassing stories from when I was a kid."

"Well, then, I cannot wait." Loki decided, for once, to focus on the positive.

* * *

**Author's Note**- Quote at the beginning of the chapter taken from the clip -Thor 2: The Dark World : Tom Hiddleston "Loki" On Set Interview - Uploaded to Youtube by ScreenSlam on Oct. 17, 2013

***A/ N** - When Tom Hiddleston was asked about a guilty pleasure of his, he cited the second Ace Ventura movie. - Interview with the BBC- Uploaded on Youtube on Oct. 25, 2011


	5. Chapter 5

Ch. 5

**"He was born with good instincts and all of his villainy comes from a kind of betrayal. . . . . . he just feels like the narrative of his whole life has been an appalling lie, so he's kind of heartbroken."**

Tom Hiddleston on Loki

* * *

The next week, Loki boarded Stark's jet, ready to fly to the other side of the country. Unfortunately for him, they were to be joined by both Tony and Pepper, who were heading back to their Malibu home. Loki had only seen Stark a handful of times in the months since his return and each exchange had been incredibly unpleasant.

Once on board, Loki settled in the back with the guards while Darcy sat up near the front next to Pepper. He could hear snippets of their conversation and it seemed to revolve around fashion, which made Loki grin for some reason.

After takeoff, Tony left the cabin and came to the back, plopping in the seat opposite Loki.

"Is there nowhere else on this transport for you to sit?" Loki asked with a pained expression.

"My jet; I sit where I want," Tony said with a false smile. "You know, I still haven't forgiven you for Phil."

"I tried to take over your entire world and yet you hold a grudge over one man? And, hasn't he fully recovered?" Loki asked.

"No thanks to you. So, what's up with you and little Miss Jailbait?"

"Little Miss Jailbait?" Loki replied with an arched eyebrow.

"She may be well over the legal limit, but she is far too young for me, which means she's too young for you by what, a millennium or so? So what's up with going to meet her family? You know, here on Earth, we usually only do that when we're in a serious relationship. Is this love, Loki?" Tony sneered at Loki, using his own words against him.

"She is merely a distraction to pass the time," Loki replied quickly.

"So, no long term plans then?" Tony pressed.

"Hardly," Loki snapped back and instantly regretted his words. He couldn't believe he let Stark bait him and goad him into lying, but he wasn't about to give that insufferable man the truth. He was hardly going to admit he had fallen in love with the girl. He settled back in his seat and vowed not to say another word to the man.

0000000

Once at Darcy's family home, Loki was introduced to her family as "Lucien Odenkirk". Agents Smith and Jones, wearing standard issue dark suits and ties instead of their fatigues, pretended to be bodyguards. Darcy explained that Lucien was a foreign scientist that had recently defected to the U.S. She was vague about exactly where he was from. Although she said he was a friend from work, Loki knew her family was not fooled, as both her father and brother took him aside and gave him vague but heartfelt threats of what would befall him if he did anything to "break Darcy's heart".

Darcy's mom reminded Loki of his own mother. In some ways, they couldn't have been more different. Frigga was tall and lithe; Darcy's mom was short and plump. Frigga was dignified and regal; Darcy's mom was boisterous and full of laughter. When he met her, Loki tried to charm her by kissing her hand, a tactic he knew made Midgardian women swoon. Instead, she grabbed him and enveloped him in a hug. The feelings of comfort and home that she gave him were almost too much to bear.

It was the feeling of a true home that haunted him and thoughts of his own family back on Asgard ran through his brain. When he first met Darcy, she had asked him if he could ever just believe that his family truly loved him. The time with Darcy's family, especially her mother, made him realize that he was loved. Even at his angriest, when he denied Thor and Odin, he never thought of Frigga as anything but his mother. And, the more he thought on it, he even missed Thor and Odin, although he wouldn't dare mention it aloud.

All in all, the week with Darcy's family passed too quickly for Loki's liking. The only wrinkle for Loki was when Darcy gave out identical autographed pictures of the Avengers to her nieces and nephews as presents. Although her siblings protested the expense of the gifts, Loki knew that Darcy had taken the photo herself on her phone and hounded the Avengers until she had gotten their signatures. The only one missing was Thor, who had returned to Asgard by the time that Darcy had arrived in New York.

"But, where's Thor? He's my favorite!" whined Darcy's five-year-old nephew.

"I know, I know, sweetie. He's wonderful. I'll see if I can buy a photo of him the next time he's on Earth," Darcy reassured him.

Loki rolled his eyes.

0000000

On the ride back to the jet in Malibu, Darcy and Loki sat in the back seat together. Within a few minutes, Darcy had nodded off, her head resting on his shoulder, the curtain of her hair covering her face. He could smell the sweet aroma of her shampoo and feel the rise and fall of her chest. He closed his eyes, drinking in the moment. It was the closest they had been since that time, months ago, when Loki had tried to kiss her. He was sorely tempted again, yet sure that Agent Smith would swerve off the road before letting Loki take advantage of the situation.

They were able to drive right up to the tarmac of Stark's private airfield. Tony saw Darcy sleeping on Loki's shoulder as the car stopped and he narrowed his eyes. This was exactly what he had feared. There was no way he was going to let that crazy predator get his hooks into that poor girl.

000000

Darcy spent the majority of the flight home talking with Pepper. She really admired the older woman and enjoyed talking to her. Since she had an MBA, Darcy asked questions about grad school, as it had been an option that she had considered from time to time. Despite how fascinating the conversation was, Darcy kept looking over at Loki. Once or twice, he caught her, and he'd give her a little wink which made her stomach clench. She felt like a 12 year old with a crush.

Right before landing in New York, Tony went up to the cabin. "Jarvis, do you have that recording I asked you to get from our flight to Malibu?"

"Yes, sir."

"Great, send it to Darcy Lewis' phone."

"Yes, sir."

Darcy's phone pinged. She looked down and saw she had a voicemail from Tony Stark. Which was odd, since she was on the flight with him. She played it back.

At first, she grinned. She could hear a conversation that she had had about New York fashion with Pepper on the flight out. Then, she heard the exchange between Tony and Loki. By the time she got to the part where Loki said, "Hardly", she was sobbing.

"Are you alright?" Pepper asked, concern written on her face.

Darcy nodded. She was about to say something when she realized they had already landed.

The second the jet doors opened, Darcy darted off the plane, her overnight bag in hand. She avoided the S.H.I.E.L.D. car waiting for Loki and the guards and took a taxi home. She spent the whole night alternating between crying and screaming, punishing herself by listening to the recording again and again, memorizing every word.

000000

The next evening, Darcy stood outside Loki's cell.

"Why weren't you at the lab today? You know it's impossible to talk to those two without you there to interpret." Loki tried to temper his frustration, but it had been a miserable day.

"I heard what you told Tony on the plane, about me being a passing distraction."

Loki's eyes widened. "Darcy, I. . ."

Darcy put up her hand to stop him, cutting him off, "I should have been disappointed by what you said. But I wasn't disappointed. I was completely devastated. I just let you become my entire world. You were right, you know. I don't spend this much time with any of my other 'friends'. I let myself fall completely for you, even when you never gave me any indication I was more than a placeholder."

Darcy took a deep breath. "I've gotten a transfer to work with Jane full-time. This is my last visit. Find something else to pass the time."

With that, she turned on heel and stalked off.

"Darcy!" Loki cried after her retreating figure.

"Dude, you really screwed the pooch on that one," said Agent Jones.

"I am well aware of that," Loki snapped.

"So, what are you going to do about it?" Agent Smith asked.

" I . . . ., I don't know."

0000000

Two weeks passed. Two agonizing, mind-numbingly boring, wretched weeks. There was no sunshine or joy in Loki's life. Then, Agent Smith delivered the really bad news. Darcy had a date with Hawkeye for that night.

"Well, drastic times call for drastic measures, " Loki replied.

Loki stood in the middle of his cell and did something he never thought he would do.

"Heimdall, I know you can see me. I have a favor to ask of you."

* * *

**Author's Note** - Quote at the beginning of the chapter from the Pop Sugar interview posted on Youtube on April 25, 2012


	6. Chapter 6

Ch. 6

**"She reacts the way the audience would react."**

Kat Dennings on Darcy Lewis

* * *

Darcy's date with Clint had been miserable. She couldn't believe she had agreed to it. Talk about rebound. They had absolutely no similar interests, despite spending the whole night trying to find some common ground. He liked sports; she liked movies. He only liked American food and complained bitterly about the "weird" food he had to eat on foreign assignments; she loved international cuisine. And on. And on. It galled her that she was able to get along with a thousand year old alien, but couldn't seem to find anything to talk about with a forty year old American. It hadn't seemed so hard to get along with Clint during their first date, months ago. But, compared to Loki, he just didn't measure up.

She tossed and turned all night while she thought about Loki. Part of her wished that she had just kept her mouth shut, just let things go on the way they were. But, in the end, she knew the pain was going to come sooner or later. It always did when you loved someone who didn't love you back.

00000

The next morning, Darcy arrived late to work, bleary-eyed and exhausted. Jane had been really, really sweet these past two weeks and had only said "I told you so" once or twice, but Darcy knew that she had been a pain to work with. Darcy turned on her work laptop and put on her headphones. She started her favorite playlist, the one full of break-up songs, and got ready to go over the morning's emails when she heard someone clear his throat loudly behind her.

She swiveled around in her chair, ripping out her headphones, and there, flanked by Agents Smith and Jones, was Loki. He had cut his hair and wore that amazing black tailored suit he wore when they first met. He was exquisite and she felt the pain bloom in her chest.

He looked down at her with the brilliant smile of his, that smile that made her feel as though she were the most beautiful, amazing woman in the world. He began to speak.

"My dear Darcy, I cannot apologize enough for what I said to Stark. I was rash and angry and said things I did not mean. But, please never doubt my feelings for you. You once said that all real love requires sacrifice. For you, I give up my pride, my grief, my rage, my desire for revenge and for power. I give it all up for you, because without you, I have nothing. You also told me that with love, it is never too late; that there is always another chance."

Loki paused for a moment and then forged ahead, "I do not know what the future holds, but what I can promise is that I will love you for the rest of my long, long life. And I want to share that life with you as my wife."

Loki knelt on one knee. "According to Midgardian custom, this is when I would give you a ring, but to show my true commitment to you, I got you one of these." From behind his back, he produced a golden apple.

"Will you marry me?" Loki asked as he grasped her hand.

"Oh, hell, yes!" Darcy exclaimed, tackling Loki and kissing him soundly.

"Smith, Jones, here's my phone; take a picture. Take a picture."

Moments later, Darcy looked down at her brand new engagement photo. "This is so going on Facebook."

And that's how Darcy and Loki fell in love and got married.

* * *

**Author's Note**- I hope you liked the story. Reviews are like sweet, golden drops of kindness and I thank you for them. There is a short deleted scene that I've posted called, "A Bad Choice". The next story in the series is "Loki's First Halloween".

**Please note** - These stories were all written and posted before watching Thor 2.

**A/N** - Quote at the beginning of the chapter taken from an interview by Manny, the Movie Guy posted on YouTube on May 7, 2011


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